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Each series, we select a theme and then screen films that fit the theme. Think of it as an extended conversation, with each film adding a new voice. Quirky, controversial, heart-wrenching, or hilarious, our goal is to entertain and educate. And you can’t beat the price. Admission is free!

2004 Fall Film Series

Theme: Banned Films From Around the World

Whether the prejudice and oppression is political, religious, or sexual in nature, these five films were denied an audience when they were released. From China to the United States, this film series serves as a reminder that censorship knows no borders.

Frozen

Filmed secretly, without government approval, this bold film offers a glimpse of the repressed, risk-taking artistic spirit of young Chinese filmmakers. A young performance artist decides to make his own suicide his last work of art. He plans to melt a huge block of ice with his body heat and die of hypothermia. He calls this protest against the coldness of society "Funeral on Ice."

1996 99 minutes Rated: N/A Director: Xiaoshuai Wang

Fire

Sita and Radha are young women whose husbands choose celibacy or mistresses over their wives. The two women become friends and grow closer together, forming a forbidden but liberating relationship. A lush, passionate story of emancipation and love in a closed society.

1996 108 minutes Rated: R Director: Deepa Mehta

Dementia/Daughter of Horror

One of the strangest movies ever made. It was shot entirely without dialogue and backed by the singing of Marni Nixon (West Side Story, My Fair Lady). Following a woman's surreal sleepwalk through a world of pimps, prostitutes and murder, it was banned by the New York Censor Board. Two years later, the film was reissued as Daughter of Horror with foreboding narration by Ed McMahon.

1955 56 min. Rated: PG Director: John J. Parker

Yol

Five Turkish prisoners are granted one week to set their domestic affairs in order. Each prisoner is confronted with the harsh rules of religious tradition and political oppression. One prisoner has an unfaithful wife whose family orders him to kill her. Another prisoner is in love with a young girl, but is compelled by tradition to marry his sister-in-law when his brother is killed by soldiers.

1982 114 minutes Rated: PG
Director: Yilmaz Guney and Serif Goren